On 19 August 1942, Second Lieutenant Loustalot was a U.S. Army Ranger serving with the 1st Ranger Battalion and was participating in the raid on Dieppe, a German-occupied port on the northern coast of France. The primary participants in the Dieppe Raid were from Canada and the United Kingdom; 2LT Loustalot was one of 50 U.S. Rangers assigned to the operation.
During the mission on 19 August, the British Captain leading the assault was killed. 2LT Loustalot then took command and scaled a steep cliff with his men, although he was wounded three times. However, he was eventually cut down by enemy crossfire in his attempts to reach the machine gun nest at the top of the cliff.
2LT Loustalot is considered to be the first American soldier killed by Germans on land in World War II.
Fellow 1st Ranger Battalion members Lieutenant Joseph Randall and Technician 4th Grade Howard Henry were the other two Americans who died at Dieppe. Almost 60% of the men who made it ashore were either killed, wounded or captured, yet virtually none of the objectives of the mission were met.
The First American Soldiers to Fight the Germans in Europe
1st Ranger Battalion Participants
Dieppe, France August 19, 1942
During the mission on 19 August, the British Captain leading the assault was killed. 2LT Loustalot then took command and scaled a steep cliff with his men, although he was wounded three times. However, he was eventually cut down by enemy crossfire in his attempts to reach the machine gun nest at the top of the cliff.
2LT Loustalot is considered to be the first American soldier killed by Germans on land in World War II.
Fellow 1st Ranger Battalion members Lieutenant Joseph Randall and Technician 4th Grade Howard Henry were the other two Americans who died at Dieppe. Almost 60% of the men who made it ashore were either killed, wounded or captured, yet virtually none of the objectives of the mission were met.
The First American Soldiers to Fight the Germans in Europe
1st Ranger Battalion Participants
Dieppe, France August 19, 1942